Stitching Status: A Textured Test Knit

I posted this time lapsed video on Instagram on Saturday. I’ve been working on a test knit for Alicia Plummer for the last 10 days and I’ve just got 20 rows of ribbing on my last sleeve and it will be blocked. She posted this pic on Instagram asking for test knitters and I had the time and the yarn so I volunteered.

I decided to do this test knit because it was a pattern that my sister would love. A mock neck sweater with some interesting texture on the shoulders. It’s a simple 1/1 cable pattern but it’s turning out nicely. I just don’t love cables but this isn’t so complex that it’s turning me off but I really should learn how to cable without the cable needle. I do realize though that I’m horrible about reading my pattern to know when to adjust the pattern, so one sleeve the pattern moves ever so slightly and the other sleeve is pretty perfect. Only I will be able to tell so I’m not bothered by the imperfection.

I knew I was knitting this with my sister Helen in mind so I purposefully knit it in a lovely heathered purple (it’s Knit Picks Swish Worsted) so that I wouldn’t want to keep it for myself. I don’t have a  lot of neck so I tend to not gravitate towards turtlenecks of mock necks but she loves them. She saw the teaser pics on my Instagram stories with this yarn and told me she was hoping it was something for her. She was right. Now if I knit this in a lovely shade of green all bets would be off on whether she would be getting it. I will probably make this again but omit the mock neck and just let it have a nice v neck. My only sadness is that this was the warmest February on record in the DC area so she’ll have to pack it away and wear it next winter.

Does anyone else ever test knit? This is only my second time volunteering but it’s a fun way to see the design process early on.